Agronutris raises €100 million for insect protein production
The French biotech company will deploy its first industrial unit by the end of 2022 and fund a second, larger site with this capital.
The industrial site’s initial production operations will focus on the rearing and transformation of the black soldier fly for the aquaculture and pet food markets.
Cédric Auriol, co-founder and General Manager of Agronutris: “This round of fundraising gives us the means to embark on a new stage in our development, but it also recognizes the progress made by our company over the last 10 years. It follows a very successful year for Agronutris during which we were notably the first company to be approved in Europe to sell insects for human food”.
The Rethel site, in France’s Ardennes region, is positioned at a European crossroads, close to the Belgian and German borders. One of the key factors behind choosing this location is the presence of a number of different sources of inputs, with agroindustry subproducts and byproducts, which will be used to feed the insects reared in the plant. In addition to value-added flours and oils resulting from the company’s exclusive manufacturing process, the production waste materials are transformed into organic fertilizer, which will in turn be used to feed the region’s crops. This “return to the land” completes the loop for the circular economy cycle conceived by the teams from Agronutris.
Nine production sites by 2029
The first two sites will be able to convert 280,000 tons of agricultural agroindustry bio-waste each year and will make it possible to create 200 jobs in the Grand-Est region and at the research center in Occitanie.
By setting up nine production sites by 2029 with a combined annual conversion capacity of 1.5 million tons of bio-waste, Agronutris aims to establish itself as a world leader for sustainable nutrition.
(Image credit: Agronutris)